Cliff Floyd
Cornelius Clifford Floyd Jr. (born December 5, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who last played for the San Diego Padres. Early years Floyd was born to parents Cornelius Clifford Floyd, Sr. and Olivia Floyd. After spending 13 years as an only child, Floyd was joined by brother Julius. Sister Shanta was later adopted when the Floyds noticed her as a six-year old classmate of Julius' who had been troublesome for her then adoptive parents. The three siblings were raised in Markham, Illinois, a small suburb south west of Chicago. Floyd's father, a former Marine, worked double shifts at a U.S. Steel plant in Chicago to allow the family to live in a safe and stable neighborhood. At Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois, Floyd was a three-sport star in baseball, football, and basketball. In basketball, he led his high school to the Class AA Sectional Playoffs. In leading his team to the Illinois state baseball championship as a senior, he hit .508 with 130 RBI during the final two years of his high school prep career. He was heavily recruited by Arizona State University, Stanford, and Creighton University, but when the Montreal Expos drafted him as the 14th pick in the 1st round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft, Floyd made no hesitation and chose to go to the minor leagues. Major league career Floyd made his major league debut in , playing in 10 games with the Expos. In , Floyd was traded from the Expos to the Florida Marlins for Dustin Hermanson and Joe Orsulak. In , Floyd earned a starting position in the Marlins' outfield. In , in 420 at-bats, he hit .300 with 22 home runs and 91 RBI. In , Floyd was traded from the Marlins back to the Expos, with Claudio Vargas, Wilton Guerrero, and cash, for Graeme Lloyd, Mike Mordecai, Carl Pavano, Justin Wayne, and Donald Levinski. Later that year, Floyd was traded from the Expos to the Boston Red Sox for Sun-Woo Kim and Seung Song. In , Floyd was signed by the New York Mets. He played well for the Mets, but was hampered by injuries in 2003 and . However, Cliff stayed healthy in and responded with a career-high and team-leading 34 home runs. The next year, though, Floyd was once again limited by injuries and only played in 97 games during New York's division-winning year. He caught the division-clinching out for the Mets, but was slowed by injuries in the playoffs for New York, only recording twelve at-bats in the his team's ten postseason games. In , Floyd agreed to a deal with his hometown Chicago Cubs for the 2007 season, with an option for . Floyd missed nine games in August 2007 to mourn the death of his father, Cornelius. He returned on August 21, 2007, to play the San Francisco Giants, where he hit a game-winning RBI.Cliff Floyd returns from stint away to lift Chicago Cubs to 5-1 win over San Francisco Giants On December 14, 2007, Floyd signed a $3 million, one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. Floyd spent 2008 platooning for the Rays at DH against righties. On February 5, , Floyd agreed to a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres. On October 8, 2009, the Padres released Floyd. Broadcasting career On February 22, 2010, Floyd accepted a broadcasting job with FOX Sports Florida. Personal life Floyd lives in Florida with his longtime companion Maryanne Manning, the couple's three children, his mother, and the two children of his sister Shanta. Shanta died in 2006 after a long battle with cancer. See also *Top 500 home run hitters of all time References External links *Floyd Interview 6-30-06 *http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071217&content_id=2328241&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:African American baseball players Category:Baseball players from Illinois Category:Major League Baseball left fielders Category:National League All-Stars Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:Harrisburg Senators players Category:Ottawa Lynx players Category:Charlotte Knights players Category:Calgary Cannons players Category:St. Lucie Mets players Category:Brooklyn Cyclones players Category:Montreal Expos players Category:Florida Marlins players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:New York Mets players Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:Tampa Bay Rays players Category:San Diego Padres players